The present invention is related to the field of energy, and in particular to the field of renewable energy.
The world's oceans produce an enormous amount of wave energy which could potentially provide clean, renewable, and inexpensive electric power. Furthermore, off-shore winds are substantial.
There exist a variety of design concepts for harvesting energy from ocean waves, which can be roughly arranged into several categories. Wave storage devices store energy in reservoirs, and then draw from the reservoir to produce electric power. Wave energy devices convert the energy of a wave directly into electricity, without storage. Point absorbers operate at a single point along a wave, rather than across and entire wave front. There also exist other miscellaneous wave energy concepts which are not easily categorized. Ocean current energy converters tap large-scale persistent flow patterns, including horizontal motion caused by tides. Tidal energy converters tap the vertical motion of the tides. Furthermore, wind harvesting turbines, including compact vertical axis turbines, have been demonstrated for some time.